Many parents online and in my practice ask how I keep my children healthy. It’s not a quick answer, it’s not the right answer, and it’s not going to resonate with everyone. For those of you who have asked, my intention in sharing this is to empower you to follow your heart with regards to where you might take your children’s health.
I have been asked about this topic so much that I created the At-Home Health Care Manual — 20+ pages of my go-to home remedies and resources to manage our family’s health. Be sure to download your copy for a full list of ideas.
My Go-To Books for Ideas Around the Health of Our Children
I am such a bookworm, and my personal library of health and wellness related books is one I’ve needed to slim down time and again. Only the favorites stay. Books give me peace of mind. They are like a co-parent at times. And they are quiet. And I get to close them if I don’t agree with their content. When I do love their content, they live on my shelf for years until they aren’t returned upon borrowing out, or I find someone who needs the content more than me.
Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child is my all time favorite parenting book in terms of health.
Anything by Dr. William Sears and Dr. Robert Sears — in my opinion they are an updated version of the What to Expect When You’re Expecting book. Though I don’t follow everything I read, I enjoy their perspective on having a well-rounded approach to health.
Our family homeopath, Kate Birch, has authored three or four books now that all grace the shelf of my home and office: The Solution: Homeoprophylaxis: The Vaccine Alternative, The Best Family Homeopathy Acute Care Manual, Vaccine Free, and Homeopathic Therapeutics of the Diseases of the Liver and Biliary Ducts.
Curious what else is on my bookshelf? Check out this post.
What I Do When My Kids Aren’t Well
First of all, if they are showing signs of fatigue or just being off balance, I offer a home day to rest up and recuperate. Many times doing this keeps at bay whatever is trying to work its way through. If I don’t have them stay home and curl up with a book for a day, they end up being home later in the week for more than a day as their bodies get more stressed, and consequently, more tired.
We cut out sweets (if there are any around, sometimes this includes fruit), and send them to bed earlier.
A detox bath with Epsom salts and essential oils is relaxing and a great way to boost the body’s ability to work with what’s there.
I use Nutrition Response Testing to see whether we’re dealing with an immune challenge, and/or another issue, and boost their support with nutritional supplementation.
We may get into the chiropractor an additional time that week to boost their body’s ability to meet the challenge at hand.
If the concern sticks around for more than a few days and is having an impact on school attendance, then I call our homeopath.
There are times when I plug in all the above and other times only 1 or 2 things are necessary.
Start Building Your Health Care Team
I’m a firm believer in creating a village around your family. What do you want that to look like? There are times when people give us flack because we don’t take our children to well child visits. Here’s the thing about that: we’re not opting out of well child visits because of ignorance, we opt out because our children’s health is managed in other ways. And yes, I WILL take my child to a pediatrician, the urgent care, or emergency room if I feel it’s necessary to do so, and have done so — like last summer, when my girls stepped on a hornets’ nest and got stung more than a dozen times each.
Our team started when I was pregnant. To fulfill on a healthy pregnancy and childbirth, we hired the following support people to be on our team:
- A craniosacral therapist
- A team of home birth midwives
- A birth doula
- A Bradley natural childbirth educator
- A chiropractor
Once our oldest was born we added the support of a holistically trained pediatrician, a former nurse of 35 years, and a homeopath.
These were our people — most of them still are our people. 13 years later they are still taking a stand for the health of our family. If something isn’t right, someone is going to catch it. This has worked very well for several years now.
How to Make the Switch
How to manage your children’s health is entirely up to you. That’s the beauty of it. Some families prefer the allopathic route and some prefer the alternative/complementary route. Neither is wrong. I believe there is a place for both. I’ve always taught parents I work with from the very beginning that YOU’RE the consumer. YOU get to choose. Start looking into what interests you and is pulling at you in regards to your children’s health and your heart’s desires. Start asking questions, signing up for seminars, and grab free ebooks on topics of interest when you can.
This is not to be taken as medical treatment, advice, or diagnosis, and I am not a doctor.
